my kitchen

oat milk for all!

February 27, 2019

Hello dear readers. Yes, it’s been some time since I’ve contributed to my sad, lonely website of essays blog.

But seeing as how I recently left my executive level position at a brand agency I have been afforded the time to do what I please, when I please. That affordment is apparently making oat milk.

Last week I posted my first oat milk attempt on Instagram and consequently had lots and lots of requests on how to make this easy, inexpensive and delicious alternative to both dairy and nut milks (very meta). First, this is completely vegan and also gluten free. Many don’t know this but oats are inherently gluten free–they do not contain the evil protein known as gluten. What’s confusing, for many, is that many oatmeal products or granolas have been combined with other ingredients that contain wheat flour or wheat by-products.

I’ve noticed that more and more coffee shops are using oat milk as an alternative to almond or soy milk. I hate to use this word, but oat milk actually has a decidedly closer mouth-feel (shudder) to that of dairy milks. Baristas are also able to create that beautiful heart pattern when they make a latte because the consistency of oat milk foams similarly to whole milk.

There aren’t many retailers carrying oat milk, but you can find the brand Oatly at some Whole Foods, and it is NOT cheap! Once I made oat milk for the first time I thought, “Oh man, Oatly better hope people don’t find out how easy it is to make this.” (Sorry Oatly.)

I researched many oat milk recipes and combined them into what I think is the best way to make this awesome concoction.

Ingredients:

  • 1C Oats
  • 4-4 1/2C water
  • 3-4 ice cubes

You will need:

  • large & small mixing bowls
  • colander
  • potato sack (similar to a thicker cheese-cloth or thin tea towel)
  • blender
  • funnel (optional)
  • vessel to pour your oat milk into

Time you’ll need: approximately 25-30 minutes, most of which is just soaking oats.

 

The first thing you want to do is soak 1 cup of oats in a small mixing bowl in cool water, add enough water to completely submerge the oats. Do not use instant oats! I’ve had good luck with Trader Joe’s rolled oats. (I also happened to design this package!) The reason for soaking the oats is that it will make the end result less slimy–one of the most frequent complaints/comments I found when researching oat milk recipes.

Once the water starts to clear and you can see the oats (about 15-20 minutes) rinse the oats in a colander under cool water.

Add the rinsed oats to your blender with 4 cups of cool water. Adding a little more or a little less will control the consistency. I’ve found that 4 1/4 cups of water is just about perfect. Adding 3-4 ice cubes will also help reduce any slimy texture. Blend the oats, water and ice cubes on your blenders highest setting until the oats have been completely pulverized into a consistent opaque liquid. My Vitamix blender took about 1:15 minutes to do the job.

 

Drape your potato sack over a large mixing bowl. I found that doubling the sack works best–you want to strain out as much of the pulp as possible. Pour the blended contents into the cloth, and then similarly to a pastry bag, twist the cloth at the top and work your way down to squeeze out the liquid. Do this until you can only feel the leftover pulp.

Honestly, that’s about it. I use a funnel with a small built-in strainer to filter out any remaining pulp that might’ve squeaked through, but this isn’t necessary; however, a funnel does make it easier to pour the oat milk from a large bowl into a receptacle. This entire process is actually zero waste! The pulp leftover in the potato sack can be saved and added to smoothies as added fiber and protein. How about that!

 

When I think about how much nut milks costs, and that fact that I avoid dairy milk, I can honestly say I will never have to spend $5 (or more) on dairy alternatives. This small amount of effort costs about .30¢ per litre.

Now that’s MOOooos you can use!

Ahem.

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